Sifting testing-machine.



W. J. BELL.

SIFTING TE STING MACHINE,

APPLIUATION FILED MAR. 0, 1914.

Patented Dec. 8, 1914.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

gjvmmufou 6. 9/, ALMW W. J. BELL.

SIFTING TESTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED 111111.51, 1914.

1,120,012. Patented Dec. 8, 191 1.

3 SHBETSSHEET 2.

wummml 4 W. J. BELL. SIFTING TESTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED HARM. 1914- 1, 1 20.0 1

Patented Dec. 8. 1914.

' UMTED sTaTEs PATENT OFFICE.

WILLARD J." BELL, 0F NEWAYGO, MICHIGAN.

SIFTIIN'G TESTING-MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed March 9, 1914. Serial No. 823,338.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLARD J. Bum, a citizen of the United States, residing at 'Newaygo, in the county of Newaygo and using testing sieves, which are six to eight inches in diameter and fitted with standard wire mesh, the work has usually been done by shaking or agitating the sieves by hand to shake out the fines. This manner of making testsis, however, necessarily a some- I what crude and uncertain one, as the personal element entering into the shaking or agitating does not admit pf making any two tests just alike; and although various efforts have been made in the past to produce machines that would successfully shake these testing sieves, so as to standardize not only the sieves, themselves but the method of shaking, such machines have not proved to be practically successful'or satisfactory.

a pulley 14 which may be The present invention has for its object to provide a machine for shaking or agitating testing sieves which will accomplish the desired result in a uniform and satisfactory manner, so as tosecure uniform standards of comparison of the sifted material.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a front view of the improved sifting test ing machine. Fig. 2 is a plan view thereo and Fig. 3 is a side view looking from the right of Figs. 1 and 2.

Referring to the drawings, '12 denotes a suitable base which is preferably made in the form of a closed box adapted to be filled with oil to a point high enough to insure perfect lubrication of all of the working parts contained therein.- Journaled in the said base is a' driving shaft 13 provided with belted to any suitable source of power. The shaft '13 carries bevel gears 15 meshing with similar bevel g rs 16 fixed to the lower ends of vertical shafts 17-having bearings in standings.

ards 18 bolted or otherwise properly secured to the cover 19 of the base 12. The shafts 17 are provided at or near their upper and lower ends with eccentrics 20 encircled by suitable straps connected with upper and lower shaking plates 21, or the said straps may be formed integral with said plates if desired.

Mounted on the lower plate 21 is a spring support 22 for a series of testing sieves 23 which nest into each other and which are bound together by a U-shaped strap 24, said sieves being of graduated mesh from the top sieves, which is of coarse mesh, downward. The uppermost of the superposed testing sieves 23 is somewhat loosely encirthe upper ends of the U-shaped strap 24,

the latter being of sufficient flexibility so that its ends may be sprung outward to release said securing devices from the said spring 26, or may be moved inward for the purpose of bringing these securing devices to fastening positions, as shown in the draw To hold the said securing devices in place the spring 26 is preferably provided with slightly hollowed out seats 28. The spring 26 is also preferably provided with upwardly projecting rings 29 which serve as handles by which the series of sieves 23, bound together by the strap 24 and the spring 26, may be conveniently handled in removing them from the machine or replacing them therein. As the sieves are not rigidly connected with shaking plates 21 the upper shaking plate is provided with f lugs 44 which enter notches 4:5 in the cover cussively jarring the cover plate 25 and thereby percussively agitating the series of sieves23 sustained by the spring support 22.

- To this end the said cover plate is provided with bosses 33 in which are preferably inserted cushioning wooden blocks 34 on which the said hammers 32 may strike. The hammer bars are lifted by means of push rods "35 which are guided near their lower ends in bosses 36 in the cover 19, and which pass near their upper ends through guide arms 37 extending horizontally from the standard 30. The heads 38 on the lower ends'of the push rods 35 rest on lifting tappets or cams 39 on a shaft a0 mounted-within the hollow base 12 and operated from a sprocket wheel 41 on the shaft 13 connected by a chain 42 with a larger'sprocket wheel 43 on the said shaft 40. The lifting tappets or cams 39 are of such construction as to raise the rods 35 slowly, and, by a sudden drop, permit them to descend quickly, to enable the hammers to operatepercussively on the cover 25. a

From the foregoing it will be understood that the series of connected testing sieve's 23 sustained by the spring support 22 on the Thusbythe combined shaking and percussive yarring .movements which will be imparted to the testing sieves uniform results will be secured mechanically, so that proper standards of comparison, in operating on comminuted materials, may be'obtained.

When the connected series of sieves 23 are tobe removed from or-insertedinto the marchine the hammer bars 31 may be thrown back out of the way on their pivot 46. The fine material passing through the series of sieves may be received in the pan or receptacleg'i resting on the spring support 22 and thus aking the place which might otherwise be occupied by the lowermost sieve, said pan or receptacle being, as herein shown,

uniform,in size and shape, with the sieves 23. This machine is not only of very great advantage in saving the laborwhich has heretofore been required in shaking testing sieves by hand, but it also saves considerable wear and tear on the sieves themselves; as, in the hand shaking process, the sieves have to be pounded or jarred by striking themagainst some object, or with some instru ment, in order to jar the i fine material through the meshes thereof, and this method of jarring the sieves'tends to wear them out much more rapidly than does the mechani cal jarring effected by the testing machine;

. it is designed to provide automatic mechanism for stopplng the testing machine afterthe same has been run for a certain predetermined til -e, but as this automatic stopping mechanism forms no part of the present invention it is not herein illustrated.

The invention is not to be understood as being limited to the details herein shown, as these may be widely varied, within the province of mechanical skill, without departing from the essence of the invention, which, it is believed, will result in standardizing sieve shaking, and thus more accurate results will be secured, in the use of testing sieves, than have heretofore been attained.

Having thus described my invention ll claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent:-

1. In a sifting testing machine, the combination with a suitable base, of means above said base for yieldingly supporting a vertical series of sieves, means for imparting horizontal circular or gyratory shaking movements to said sieves, and means for percussively jarring the said yieldingly supportedsieves. 4

2. in a sifting testing machine, the combination with a suitable base, of means above said base for yieldingly supporting a vertical series of sieves, means for imparting horizontal circular or gyratory shaking movements to said sieves, a top plate to'rest n the vertical series of sieves, one or more hammers to act on said top plate, for percussively jarring the series of yieldingly supported sieves, and means for operating said hammer orhammers.

3. In a sifting testing machine, the com-.

bination with two vertical shafts each of which is provided with two eccentrics, and

. means for sustaining and rotating 7 said shafts, of lower and upper horizontally moving shaking plates connectedat their opposite ends'with said eccentrics and serving to impart circular or .gyratory shaking movements to a vertical series of testing sieves, a

spring support on said lower shaking plate for yieldingly sustaining said sieves, a cover plate adapted to rest on the topmost of said series of sieves, and percussive means for acting on,said cover-plate for jarring the sieves as they are shaken by the horizontal movements imparted thereto from the said I ing shaking plates connected at their opposite ends with said eccentrics and serving to" support and .to impart circular or gyratory shaking movements to a vertical series ofconnected testing sieves, a spring support on said'lower shaking plate for yieldingly sustaining said series of sieves, a cover .plate i adapted to rest on the topmost of said series .of sieves, and percussive means for actingon said cover plate for jarring the sieves as ments im arted thereto from the said eccenshafts being provided at or near their lower tries, sai percussive means consisting of hammer bars provided with hammers, push rods for lifting the said hammer bars, and

means for operating the said push rods in such a manner as to permit them to fall suddenly. I

5. In a sifting testing machine, the combination with a hollow base adapted to hold oil to lubricate the working parts contained therein, of a driving shaft journaled in said base, vertical shafts operated from said driving shaft and provided with eccentrics. upper and lower shaking plates operated by said eccentrics and serving to impart horizontal shaking movements to a series of superposed sieves,'a spring support on said lower shaking plate'for yieldingly sustaining said series of sieves, a cover plate adapted to rest on the topmost of the sieves, hammers to act percusslvely on said cover plate to jar said sieves, vertical push rods for lifting said hammers, and rotating tappets or cams within said base, for lifting said hammers. a

6. In a sifting testing machine, the combination with a suitable base, of' a horizontal rotating shaft within said base, two vertical shafts extending upward and driven from said. horizontal shaft, said vertical and upper ends with eccentrics, lower and upper horizontal shaking plates connecting said eccentrics and serving to impart circular or gyratory shaking movements to a vertical series of testing sieves, and a spring support on said lower shaking plate for yieldingly sustaining said vertical series of sieves.

*7; In a sifting testing machine, theicombination with a suitable base, of a horizontal rotating shaft within said base, two ver-' tical shafts extendin upward and driven from said horizonta shaft, said vertical shafts being provided at or near their lower and upper ends with eccentrics, lower and upper horizontal shaking plates connecting said eccentricsand serving to impart circular or gyratory shakinglmovements to a vertical series of testingsieves, a spring support on said lower shaking plate for yieldingly sustaining said vertical series of sieves, a second horizontal shaft within said,

driving-shaft and provided with eccentrics,

upper and lower shaking plates operated by said eccentrics and servlng to impart horizontal shaking movements to a series of superposed sieves, means on the lower shaking plate for yieldingly supporting the sieves, a cover plate to rest on the topmost of the sieves, hammers to act percussively on said cover plate to jar, said sieves, vertical push rods for lifting said hammers, and rotating tappets or arms, within said base, for lifting said hammers;

9. In a sifting testing machine, the combination with a hollow base adapted to hold oil to lubriate the working parts contained therein, of a driving shaft journaled in said base, vertical shafts operated from said driving shaft and provided with eccentrics, upper and lower shaking plates operated by said eccentrics and-serving to impart horizontal shaking movements to' a series of superposed sieves, a cover plate to rest on the topmost of the sieves, hammers to act percussively on said cover plate to iar said sieves, vertical push rods for lifting said hammers, rotating tappets or arms, within said base, for lifting s'aid hammers, and means for binding the series of sieves together so that they may be maintained in working position and may be, placed in the machineor removed therefrom collectively.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature, in presence of two witnesses. 

